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Router Instructions

A ROUTER PROBLEM IS THE MOST LIKELY CAUSE OF NOT BEING ABLE TO CONNECT TO THE INTERNET.

ROUTERS

The Router does just as the name suggests, it routes the incoming Internet connection to other the computers in the house or business, either with wires or with wireless signal. This is great, because it eliminates the need for multiple Internet connections into the home or business. Most Routers provide wireless Internet capabilities within the house, allowing a computer to work nearly anywhere in the Router's "bubble" in the home or business or nearby.

There's not a lot you need to do to the Router most of the time. In this e-newsletter, we cover the most often needed attention:

Rebooting,

Resetting, and

Checking connections.

IF YOU DON'T HAVE AN INTERNET CONNECTION, REBOOTING THE ROUTER MAY GET YOU A CONNECTION.

FIRST, DON'T disconnect your Router's wires. It is easy to mix up the wires and plug them into the wrong ports, resulting in another failure to connect to the Internet. With so many chances to mix up the wires, just leave them be. The Router has two wires in and one wire out. The power wire and the Internet wire both go into the Router. The power cord is easy; it only has one plug and it's black.

The Ethernet cords - blue, yellow or some other color - on the other hand have five ports to plug into, but only one is correct. It is marked: Internet. The outbound ports are for wired connections to computers in your house, usually marked with the numbers one through four.

SECOND, POWER DOWN

Turn off the power on your PC. Then, unplug Router from the power strip. It is best to shut down your PC and unplug your Router from the wall, not the back of the device. Leave the devices off for a few minutes.

THIRD, POWER UP

When restoring power to your devices, do one at a time. Start with your Router. Wait 30 seconds before powering on your computer. Once you log into your computer, and get to the main screen, give it a few minutes. Most PCs run startup tasks. The computer takes a minute to check the Internet connection. Open your browser and try surfing the web. If everything is running properly, you are connected.

IF YOU STILL DON'T HAVE AN INTERNET CONNECTION, CHECK TO SEE IF EVERYTHING IS PLUGGED IN.

If you have done everything correctly, but still don't have Internet, you may have a loose connection. Most of the time your wires will not come unplugged, but it happens sometimes.. Visually inspect each connection. If everything is plugged in, great. If you are not sure, unplug one connection and plug it back in. To eliminate confusion, never unplug more than one at a time. If this does not work after checking your plugs, reset the Router.

RESET

The Router has a reset on the back. It is a small red or black button marked: Reset. When a Router is reset, it is reverted back to the original manufacture settings. Routers are Plug-and-Play when they come out of the box. This means it is ready as soon as you plug them in. (Most Routers have an install disc. If you use it, it will fail to connect to IRTC's Wireless Internet. Don't use it.) Press the reset button on the back of the Router for 10 to 30 seconds depending on the Router. Power down and power up the Router again, as described above. At this point, you have done everything you can do with the hardware to connect to the Internet.

ROUTER ADDRESS

The router uses an address similar to a website and is used to log into the router. The default for the Linksys router, the brand we install for people, is 192.168.1.1. Type that into your web browser's address bar, and it will pull up a menu or login screen. Some router's addresses may vary depending on make or model. There are a number of different menu items to choose from like, Security, Administrator, etc.

PASSWORDS

Use the Router's default username and password to login. A default username and password will be needed to enter the Router to make changes to settings. Refer to your Router's user manual for these details. Routers usually come with a default username like, "admin" and a default password like "password." They are easy to remember and need to be changed. Create a new Router password to lock your Router from your neighbor or passerby.

Passwords are important for the security of your computer and personal information. A general rule when creating passwords is to never use your name, address, or telephone numbers. The most used passwords in the world are "password," "12345," "abcd," and "321." They are about as useful as no password at all.

The creation of a password should contain a mixture of numbers, symbols, uppercase and lowercase letters. They can look something like, @pP!E1. Write down your password and try not to lose it. If you forget a password and need to access your router, you will need to reset the router.

SECURITY

If you can connect to a wireless network without entering a password, then there is no security. The term "security" refers to encrypting data as it travels over the air. Securing a wireless network isn't a hard task.

Log on to the router and go to the Wireless tab and Wireless Security. Then enable the Wi-Fi security. The way this is done differs from router to router so it is best to read your router instructions. Wi-Fi or wireless Internet, offer three security options: WEP, WPA and WPA2. To understand these better, think of WEP as bad, WPA as good and WPA2 as the best. These security options take the information and encrypt it so that no one can "look over your shoulder" from next door or on the road in front of your house, a few hundred feet away. It is always best to use WPA2 if you plan on using the Internet for banking and other types of use that require personal information. When you enable the security options it will ask for a phrase or password. It is recommended that you use a sentence, lowercase, and without spaces. An example would be, "pleaseenteryourpasswordinthespacebelow." This security phrase is input into your wireless device that will access your router. If you forget this phrase, it can be reset. You can still log into your router when wired to it.

FIRMWARE

The router needs to have updates every now and then. These updates are called firmware updates. Firmware is the programming in the router.

To upgrade firmware, log on to the router and check to see if an update is available. Perhaps better still, visit the router manufacturer's website to download the firmware. The router will do this automatically and requires to be connected to the web. It will be installed in the same location as the automatic install. Once it finishes upgrading, the router will reboot. There will be no additional configuration once the upgrade is finished.

CALL US at 1-800-468-4732

We hope that this helps. If you have trouble, give us a call. We can help you troubleshoot the issue and get things going the way they should.

Working to improve the quality of life in the communities we serve since 1936.